24th Anniversary
October 21, 2018
State of Wisconsin
Village of Kohler
The American Club
Day One
Our lives looked a little different this year as this was Julie’s first year teaching full time at Providence Classical Christian School and Eric had taken on a larger role at work after a recent acquisition. As such it took a lot of work to get ready to leave town. Once again Granny and Grandpa came up from Texas to watch the boys but this year looked different for them too as the boys were in school all day instead of schooling at home. So after both of us working briefly in the morning, we skipped out to the airport to head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After an uneventful flight we picked up our rental Hyundai and headed to our hotel. We checked in at the Brewhouse Inn, which is a transformed portion of the original Pabst Brewery. The large copper kettles and other features of the original brewery were re-purposed as decoration throughout the inn. Because of the heavy German influence in this area, we were drawn to some strong German food at the Bavarian Bierhaus where we enjoyed the traditional schnitzel and spaetzle (however, we do love our home version better). They also had goulash on the menu so we tried that too (goulash being a family favorite) but it was no match for what we make at home. After dinner we drove to Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, which a colleague of Eric’s who grew up in the area suggested we visit. Bryant’s dates from 1938, and there is no menu, only creative men who ask what flavors you tend to enjoy and then create a cocktail to your liking (they have a repertoire of about 450). We each tried a few cocktails we have never heard of and enjoyed tasting while we took deep breaths on our first night away from Seattle and let the busyness of life melt away. The 50’s lounge vibe of Bryant’s was a great way to end our day and kickoff our visit to Wisconsin.
Day Two
Thursday dawned sunny and cool, a perfect fall day, and one of the reasons we love traveling this time of year. We began our explorations downtown with a walk along the Milwaukee River which was dotted with bridges, art, and sunshine. Eric took a picture with a statue of the Fonz (he was a big Happy Days fan) and we saw statues of Gertie the Duck and her ducklings, which inspired the people of Milwaukee during the dark days of World War II. We stopped by a few notable buildings (one covered with ladybugs, a Northwestern Mutual skyscraper engineered by our friend Josh Powers, the Milwaukee Art Museum with an enormous sail, and the Pfister Hotel which had individual room thermostats in the late 1800’s). We then walked through the Hyatt Hotel, which in a previous incarnation was the location where President Teddy Roosevelt was shot but not killed. After the assassination attempt, with the bullet lodged in his chest, Roosevelt went on to give a long speech before going to the hospital.
After our morning stroll we drove to the campus of Marquette University which had a unique chapel we wanted to see. The chapel dates from France in the 15th century and is known as the Joan of Arc Chapel. The daughter of a railroad tycoon in the early 20th century had the chapel disassembled and shipped to the United States where it was installed in her property as a trifle. She loved France and French culture so much that she had the chapel rebuilt to the exacting standards of the 15th century. Upon her death it was donated to Marquette. This chapel also contains a stone purportedly kissed by Joan of Arc before she went into battle. It was a beautiful chapel but definitely not something we expected to find in downtown Milwaukee, WI. Just near the chapel was a very well done statue of Jacques Marquette, namesake of the university, who was a Jesuit missionary and explorer who lived in the area in the 17th century sharing the Gospel with the native peoples. This was an unexpected find that added a some more depth to the period in church history we had been studying in Sunday School.
We then drove a little further west of downtown to the Miller Brewery in what is known as the Miller Valley. We took a very informative history/tasting tour throughout the property and learned all about Miller Time. The tour was both vast and interesting from the beginnings in the 1800’s to today’s production, and the scale and volume was truly impressive. We got to see the beer caves with their primitive refrigeration, actual brewing tanks used to make the 48 varieties of beer brewed there and finally the shipping warehouse with tens of thousands of square feet of cases of beer ready to head out to locations across the Midwest. We had a scrumptious lunch of smoked barbecue at Doc’s Commerce Smokehouse and weren’t able to try everything we wanted so planned on making it back again before the end of our trip!
After lunch, with full stomachs, it was time to drive to Madison during which we continued our tradition of listening to a Hercule Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie, this year: Murder on the Links. Checking into The Edgewater on Lake Mendota, we set off to walk through and around the nearby University of Wisconsin campus. We were struck by the seemingly disparate architectural styles of the buildings and equated that with the teaching mindset/worldview of a large public institution like this with over 30,000 undergraduates. We saw the student union, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and took pictures with Bucky Badger. After walking through Greek row, and not hungry for a large dinner after our large lunch, we enjoyed a Wisconsin favorite of fried cheese curds while viewing the sunset over the lake. Later we had a large warm cookie in our hotel room (along with caramel corn ice cream). Yum!
Day Three
The weather turned rainy and we jaunted up the street to tour the Wisconsin State Capitol building, Madison being the state capital as well. The building itself is a stunningly bold feat of engineering that boasts the largest granite dome in the country. The number of different types of stone present in the building originating from around the world was impressive. We toured many of the chambers in the building, admired a lot of the art, visited a museum about the building and went out in the rain on an observation deck to look out over Madison. Upon leaving Madison we directed ourselves north towards Green Bay. Along the winding journey avoiding major freeways, a ferry was required to cross the Wisconsin River. The Merrimac Ferry is part of the Wisconsin Highway system and is free to ride. The ferry itself only holds 15 vehicles crosses the river in 7 minutes. It is a cable ferry which means it winches itself across the river attached to cables. After a winding drive through Devil’s Lake State Park (the leaves were still very colorful), we took a lunch and tasting stop at the Driftless Glen Distillery. Driftless Glen is in the town of Baraboo which is also the former off-tour home of the Ringling Bros. Circus complete with huge grounds and many buildings of circus memorabilia known now as Circus World. We did not go through the museums but continued driving on county roads (all labeled with individual letters, “E”, “O”, etc.) through Oshkosh and along the shore of Lake Winnebago until we spotted the a giant Green Bay Packers “G” on the horizon.
Lodge Kohler was our hotel for the night and it was directly across the street from Lambeau Field, home to the legendary Green Bay Packers. Kohler is most often known for their plumbing fixtures, and this hotel had all of the state of the art gadgets in the rooms. Along with the computerized shower with touchscreen temperature controls, we loved the lighted mirrors controlled by the touch of a finger. In the same complex was the Titletown District which was rich with family outdoor entertainment: a huge grass hill built for sledding in the winter, an ice skating rink/track, an incredible kid zone play area with timed 30 yard dash strip, and a turf football field for pickup games by anyone that had a ball. Other game tables were sprinkled about making it a stellar place to come with friends of all ages and play free for hours. We finished the evening at Margarita’s where we stuffed ourselves with too much food and waddled back to the hotel.
Day Four
We opted out of the tour of Lambeau Field but enjoyed walking through the Atrium and seeing the statues of Vince Lombardi, Curley Lambeau, as well as a giant Lombardi trophy. Eric even got to recreate a “Lambeau Leap.” There was not much of a downtown to see in Green Bay, so we drove along the bay side of the peninsula into Door County, known for quaint small towns and great fall leaves color. Interestingly, Green Bay was originally named by the French “Baye des Puans” or Bay of Stinks possibly due to its awful smell. The water is definitely greenish in color as we observed throughout the day, but we failed to find an offensive smell in Green Bay. Moving up the peninsula through Sturgeon Bay, we learned it maintains a ship canal cut-through from Green Bay to Lake Michigan alleviating boats navigating around the top of the peninsula. By the time we passed through Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, and Peninsula State Park the weather had grown fierce, blowing and snowing. We felt great compassion for the many runners we passed braving the harsh weather on a 50 mile running event that day. Hardy folks! Noticing the tumultuous seas crashing over the docks at Sister Bay, we hustled inside the famous Swedish restaurant, Al Johnson’s, for warm and delicious Swedish meatballs and pancakes. The place was packed with people, but the live goats that usually munch on the grass of the sod roof were tucked away safely at the farm to avoid being blown off the roof in the weather. After another very satisfying meal, we proceeded back down the peninsula on the Lake Michigan side which is so vast that it looks like the ocean rather than a lake. Just west of Sheboygan, we settled in for the evening in the Village of Kohler, home to both the corporate headquarters and current factory of all the Kohler products. There are several hotels in the village all tied to Kohler, but we stayed at the lovely American Club which originated as dormitories for the immigrant workers at the factory in the 1800s. Each room was named after a different famous individual, and ours was named after Pullman of railroad fame. We explored the hotel including all the garden courtyards which dotted several open areas within the building layout before enjoying a cocktail in the library.
After getting all fancied up, our official 24th anniversary dinner began at The Wisconsin Room of the American Club where we had bison and goat appetizers, feasted on a main course of melt-in-your-mouth steak and finished with apple crisp as well as a special chocolate torte from the chef since we were celebrating our anniversary. During the meal we reminisced about previous anniversary trips challenging each other to remember details the other of us could not. What a delightful evening of laughter, good food, and celebration!
Day Five
The Kohler Waters Spa expected Julie early in the clear, sunny morning for a therapeutic massage and use of the relaxing facilities while Eric walked the village and took in the sights of the enormous factory in the cold temperatures. The Craverie, Kohler’s chocolatier and café, provided us a late breakfast and several artisan chocolates. There were no factory tours on the weekend, so we meandered through the Design Center which housed a Kohler family/business museum, current products showcase, and designed kitchens and bathrooms of all styles exhibiting the top products. Who knew plumbing fixtures could be so exciting? Finally it came time to renew our vows in the private Lantern Courtyard at the American Club. Standing in the English garden on a crisp, sunny fall day, we reminded ourselves of our commitment to each other in the covenant of marriage under the watchful eye of our sovereign God. Refreshed in our vows to one another, we began the drive towards Milwaukee stopping at The Blind Horse Winery for a tasting of Wisconsin wine and then back to Docs Commerce Smokehouse for more tasty BBQ (and some fried okra) before returning to the airport. Ah, but on the way we squeezed in one final quirky stop. At the Forest Lawn Cemetery we saw the grave site of Christopher Scholes, the father of the typewriter, who invented the QWERTY keyboard we all know and love!
But alas we arrived at the airport with 20 minutes left of our Poirot mystery! After going through security, huddled around Eric’s phone, we heard Poirot’s final explanation of all the facts and could board the plane at ease knowing the murderer had received justice. After another relaxing, adventurous trip of exploring and reconnecting it was a four-hour flight back to Seattle to jump back into the non-stop pace of Letsche life.
October 21, 2018
State of Wisconsin
Village of Kohler
The American Club
Day One
Our lives looked a little different this year as this was Julie’s first year teaching full time at Providence Classical Christian School and Eric had taken on a larger role at work after a recent acquisition. As such it took a lot of work to get ready to leave town. Once again Granny and Grandpa came up from Texas to watch the boys but this year looked different for them too as the boys were in school all day instead of schooling at home. So after both of us working briefly in the morning, we skipped out to the airport to head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After an uneventful flight we picked up our rental Hyundai and headed to our hotel. We checked in at the Brewhouse Inn, which is a transformed portion of the original Pabst Brewery. The large copper kettles and other features of the original brewery were re-purposed as decoration throughout the inn. Because of the heavy German influence in this area, we were drawn to some strong German food at the Bavarian Bierhaus where we enjoyed the traditional schnitzel and spaetzle (however, we do love our home version better). They also had goulash on the menu so we tried that too (goulash being a family favorite) but it was no match for what we make at home. After dinner we drove to Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, which a colleague of Eric’s who grew up in the area suggested we visit. Bryant’s dates from 1938, and there is no menu, only creative men who ask what flavors you tend to enjoy and then create a cocktail to your liking (they have a repertoire of about 450). We each tried a few cocktails we have never heard of and enjoyed tasting while we took deep breaths on our first night away from Seattle and let the busyness of life melt away. The 50’s lounge vibe of Bryant’s was a great way to end our day and kickoff our visit to Wisconsin.
Day Two
Thursday dawned sunny and cool, a perfect fall day, and one of the reasons we love traveling this time of year. We began our explorations downtown with a walk along the Milwaukee River which was dotted with bridges, art, and sunshine. Eric took a picture with a statue of the Fonz (he was a big Happy Days fan) and we saw statues of Gertie the Duck and her ducklings, which inspired the people of Milwaukee during the dark days of World War II. We stopped by a few notable buildings (one covered with ladybugs, a Northwestern Mutual skyscraper engineered by our friend Josh Powers, the Milwaukee Art Museum with an enormous sail, and the Pfister Hotel which had individual room thermostats in the late 1800’s). We then walked through the Hyatt Hotel, which in a previous incarnation was the location where President Teddy Roosevelt was shot but not killed. After the assassination attempt, with the bullet lodged in his chest, Roosevelt went on to give a long speech before going to the hospital.
After our morning stroll we drove to the campus of Marquette University which had a unique chapel we wanted to see. The chapel dates from France in the 15th century and is known as the Joan of Arc Chapel. The daughter of a railroad tycoon in the early 20th century had the chapel disassembled and shipped to the United States where it was installed in her property as a trifle. She loved France and French culture so much that she had the chapel rebuilt to the exacting standards of the 15th century. Upon her death it was donated to Marquette. This chapel also contains a stone purportedly kissed by Joan of Arc before she went into battle. It was a beautiful chapel but definitely not something we expected to find in downtown Milwaukee, WI. Just near the chapel was a very well done statue of Jacques Marquette, namesake of the university, who was a Jesuit missionary and explorer who lived in the area in the 17th century sharing the Gospel with the native peoples. This was an unexpected find that added a some more depth to the period in church history we had been studying in Sunday School.
We then drove a little further west of downtown to the Miller Brewery in what is known as the Miller Valley. We took a very informative history/tasting tour throughout the property and learned all about Miller Time. The tour was both vast and interesting from the beginnings in the 1800’s to today’s production, and the scale and volume was truly impressive. We got to see the beer caves with their primitive refrigeration, actual brewing tanks used to make the 48 varieties of beer brewed there and finally the shipping warehouse with tens of thousands of square feet of cases of beer ready to head out to locations across the Midwest. We had a scrumptious lunch of smoked barbecue at Doc’s Commerce Smokehouse and weren’t able to try everything we wanted so planned on making it back again before the end of our trip!
After lunch, with full stomachs, it was time to drive to Madison during which we continued our tradition of listening to a Hercule Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie, this year: Murder on the Links. Checking into The Edgewater on Lake Mendota, we set off to walk through and around the nearby University of Wisconsin campus. We were struck by the seemingly disparate architectural styles of the buildings and equated that with the teaching mindset/worldview of a large public institution like this with over 30,000 undergraduates. We saw the student union, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and took pictures with Bucky Badger. After walking through Greek row, and not hungry for a large dinner after our large lunch, we enjoyed a Wisconsin favorite of fried cheese curds while viewing the sunset over the lake. Later we had a large warm cookie in our hotel room (along with caramel corn ice cream). Yum!
Day Three
The weather turned rainy and we jaunted up the street to tour the Wisconsin State Capitol building, Madison being the state capital as well. The building itself is a stunningly bold feat of engineering that boasts the largest granite dome in the country. The number of different types of stone present in the building originating from around the world was impressive. We toured many of the chambers in the building, admired a lot of the art, visited a museum about the building and went out in the rain on an observation deck to look out over Madison. Upon leaving Madison we directed ourselves north towards Green Bay. Along the winding journey avoiding major freeways, a ferry was required to cross the Wisconsin River. The Merrimac Ferry is part of the Wisconsin Highway system and is free to ride. The ferry itself only holds 15 vehicles crosses the river in 7 minutes. It is a cable ferry which means it winches itself across the river attached to cables. After a winding drive through Devil’s Lake State Park (the leaves were still very colorful), we took a lunch and tasting stop at the Driftless Glen Distillery. Driftless Glen is in the town of Baraboo which is also the former off-tour home of the Ringling Bros. Circus complete with huge grounds and many buildings of circus memorabilia known now as Circus World. We did not go through the museums but continued driving on county roads (all labeled with individual letters, “E”, “O”, etc.) through Oshkosh and along the shore of Lake Winnebago until we spotted the a giant Green Bay Packers “G” on the horizon.
Lodge Kohler was our hotel for the night and it was directly across the street from Lambeau Field, home to the legendary Green Bay Packers. Kohler is most often known for their plumbing fixtures, and this hotel had all of the state of the art gadgets in the rooms. Along with the computerized shower with touchscreen temperature controls, we loved the lighted mirrors controlled by the touch of a finger. In the same complex was the Titletown District which was rich with family outdoor entertainment: a huge grass hill built for sledding in the winter, an ice skating rink/track, an incredible kid zone play area with timed 30 yard dash strip, and a turf football field for pickup games by anyone that had a ball. Other game tables were sprinkled about making it a stellar place to come with friends of all ages and play free for hours. We finished the evening at Margarita’s where we stuffed ourselves with too much food and waddled back to the hotel.
Day Four
We opted out of the tour of Lambeau Field but enjoyed walking through the Atrium and seeing the statues of Vince Lombardi, Curley Lambeau, as well as a giant Lombardi trophy. Eric even got to recreate a “Lambeau Leap.” There was not much of a downtown to see in Green Bay, so we drove along the bay side of the peninsula into Door County, known for quaint small towns and great fall leaves color. Interestingly, Green Bay was originally named by the French “Baye des Puans” or Bay of Stinks possibly due to its awful smell. The water is definitely greenish in color as we observed throughout the day, but we failed to find an offensive smell in Green Bay. Moving up the peninsula through Sturgeon Bay, we learned it maintains a ship canal cut-through from Green Bay to Lake Michigan alleviating boats navigating around the top of the peninsula. By the time we passed through Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, and Peninsula State Park the weather had grown fierce, blowing and snowing. We felt great compassion for the many runners we passed braving the harsh weather on a 50 mile running event that day. Hardy folks! Noticing the tumultuous seas crashing over the docks at Sister Bay, we hustled inside the famous Swedish restaurant, Al Johnson’s, for warm and delicious Swedish meatballs and pancakes. The place was packed with people, but the live goats that usually munch on the grass of the sod roof were tucked away safely at the farm to avoid being blown off the roof in the weather. After another very satisfying meal, we proceeded back down the peninsula on the Lake Michigan side which is so vast that it looks like the ocean rather than a lake. Just west of Sheboygan, we settled in for the evening in the Village of Kohler, home to both the corporate headquarters and current factory of all the Kohler products. There are several hotels in the village all tied to Kohler, but we stayed at the lovely American Club which originated as dormitories for the immigrant workers at the factory in the 1800s. Each room was named after a different famous individual, and ours was named after Pullman of railroad fame. We explored the hotel including all the garden courtyards which dotted several open areas within the building layout before enjoying a cocktail in the library.
After getting all fancied up, our official 24th anniversary dinner began at The Wisconsin Room of the American Club where we had bison and goat appetizers, feasted on a main course of melt-in-your-mouth steak and finished with apple crisp as well as a special chocolate torte from the chef since we were celebrating our anniversary. During the meal we reminisced about previous anniversary trips challenging each other to remember details the other of us could not. What a delightful evening of laughter, good food, and celebration!
Day Five
The Kohler Waters Spa expected Julie early in the clear, sunny morning for a therapeutic massage and use of the relaxing facilities while Eric walked the village and took in the sights of the enormous factory in the cold temperatures. The Craverie, Kohler’s chocolatier and café, provided us a late breakfast and several artisan chocolates. There were no factory tours on the weekend, so we meandered through the Design Center which housed a Kohler family/business museum, current products showcase, and designed kitchens and bathrooms of all styles exhibiting the top products. Who knew plumbing fixtures could be so exciting? Finally it came time to renew our vows in the private Lantern Courtyard at the American Club. Standing in the English garden on a crisp, sunny fall day, we reminded ourselves of our commitment to each other in the covenant of marriage under the watchful eye of our sovereign God. Refreshed in our vows to one another, we began the drive towards Milwaukee stopping at The Blind Horse Winery for a tasting of Wisconsin wine and then back to Docs Commerce Smokehouse for more tasty BBQ (and some fried okra) before returning to the airport. Ah, but on the way we squeezed in one final quirky stop. At the Forest Lawn Cemetery we saw the grave site of Christopher Scholes, the father of the typewriter, who invented the QWERTY keyboard we all know and love!
But alas we arrived at the airport with 20 minutes left of our Poirot mystery! After going through security, huddled around Eric’s phone, we heard Poirot’s final explanation of all the facts and could board the plane at ease knowing the murderer had received justice. After another relaxing, adventurous trip of exploring and reconnecting it was a four-hour flight back to Seattle to jump back into the non-stop pace of Letsche life.